Archetypal dynamics: an approach to the study of emergence

  • Authors:

  • William H. Sulis

  • Affiliations:

  • Collective Intelligence Laboratory, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

  • Venue:
  • Formal descriptions of developing systems
  • Year:
  • 2003

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Abstract

This paper introduces the main concepts and constructs of archetypal dynamics, a formal approach to the study of emergence based upon the analysis of coherent, meaning-laden information flows within complex systems. The fundamental triad of archetypal dynamics consists of a semantic frame, which defines entities their meaningful interactions, realizations of this frame as systems, and interpretations of this frame as users and agents. A formal system of representation by tapestries and constructors is described. Emergence is the recognition that a given system serves as the realization of multiple independent semantic frames, a situation which can studied through archetypal dynamics.